Our Work

Housing and Conservation Funding Needs Your Help!

Governor Douglas has proposed a $9 million, 70% reduction in Vermont Housing & Conservation Board (VHCB) funding for next year. The proposed budget cuts will result in a massive reduction in affordable housing investments and elimination of ALL funding for land conservation. This comes on top of $30 million in cumulative underfunding for this program over the past few years.VHCB funding leverages four additional dollars for every dollar spent. Over 8,500 permanently affordable homes have been built, 550 working farms conserved and 250,000 acres of forest and natural areas preserved with VHCB dollars. The work of VHCB and their many partners directly benefits our economy through construction and farm jobs, increased purchases of materials, providing locally grown products to communities and supporting development in our town centers. Farming alone accounts for 17% of Vermont’s economy.If you care about ensuring that Vermonters have safe, affordable housing and that farmers can re-invest in their land, please lend your voice to ensure that funding is not cut. You can:

Write a letter to your state representative. For more information, go to Vermont Land Trust’s website. The home page describes the “Conservation Can’t Wait” campaign, which has all the information you need to get involved.

Come to Montpelier on February 26th and advocate in the Legislature about the importance of VHCB funding for your community. Contact Erhard Mahnke at 233-2902 or erhardm@burlingtontelecom.net for details.